Hood catch and bracket therefor



Nov. 29, 1938. F. P. SARGENT HOOD CATCH AND BRACKET THEREFOR Filed March 7, 1936 F'RRNKP SHREENT.

INVENTOR BY W, ATTORNEY Nov. 29, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT oFnci:

J V 2,138,044 a slziflfi mfifizfifi m liucick o ration of Connecticut mpany, Bridgeport, Com, a oorpo- The present invention relates to an improved hood catch and bracket therefor, and has for an object to provide a hood catch in which the manually operable meansfor engaging and disengaging the catch means is mounted upon a fixed part of the automobile structure and in which the keeper brackets with which the catch means cooperate are mounted upon the hood, thereby providing a structure of simple construction, in which the movable operating parts of the catch are at all times protected and concealed, and which, because of their-mounting upon a fixed structure may be most conveniently and positively operated. It is particularly proposed to provide a catch in which the operating handle isdisposed at a fixed central point and operates catch means which cooperate with keeper brackets at the ends of the hood. A further object is to provide a hood catch which when released will cause the hood to be automatically raised so that it can be conveniently engaged by the fingers and lifted to open position, thereby dispensing with the lift handle usually provided upon the sides of the hood.

With the above and other objects in view an embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing, and this embodiment will be hereinafter more fully described with reference thereto, and the invention will be finally 30 pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a side elevation of an automobile hood provided with hood catch and bracket means according to the invention.

35 Fig. 2 is .an enlarged vertical sectional view,

taken along the line 22 of Fig. 1-,

Fig. 3 is an inside elevation of the parts as shown in Fig. 2, with portions of the supporting structure and hood broken away. a

40 Fig. 4 is a plan view of the keeper bracket as shown in Fig. 2, the hood being partially broken away.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view of the parts as shown in Fig. 2, and showing the catch released and supporting the hood in partially raised position.

mg. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a hood, of the type which is hinged at its rearward edge to the frame, provided with hood catch and bracket means according to the invention.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawing.

Referring to the drawing the engine compart- 55 ment of the automobile is surrounded by a fixed wall structure It having an opening II which is normally closed by the hood comprising a pair of hood sides I! hingedly mounted over the opening II by means of a hinge connection it. The end edges of the hood sides are arranged to overlap 5 the ends of the opening II and will preferably engage the 'usual lacings along the edge-of the opening, and the lower edges of thehood sides overlap the lower edges of the opening and in the closed position are pressed inwardly against the '10 fixed walls Ill. 1 p

The hood catch illustrated is of a type known as a center handle catch, and heretofore has been mounted upon the hood side to cooperate with brackets mounted upon fixed parts of the auto- 1 mobile frame. In the present invention the catch is mounted upon the fixed part III and cooperates with brackets upon the hood. The'catch is the same at each side of the hood so that only one will be described in detail. The catch comprises a 19 rock shaft M which extends longitudinally along the interior of the side wall I0 and is journaled near its ends in bearing brackets l5l5 secured to the wall I0 andis also journaled adjacent its center in bearing bracket lG-IG bent from the 25 upper edge of a mounting plate I! which is secured to the inner side of the wall l0, as by spotwelding or other suitable means.

Between the bearing brackets Iii-l6 the rock shaft is angularly bent to substantially V-form to provides. crank portion [8, which is engaged by an eye l9 at the upper end a connecting rod 20, the lower end of this connecting rod being bent at a i right angle, as at 2|, and pivotally engaged in an aperture 22 in'the end of a crank arm 23 mounted upon the inner end of the operating handle 24, the shank of this handle being journaled in the mounting plate I! and extended through a suitable aperture in the side wall It). The outer ends of the rock shaft ll are bent outwardly and longi- 40 tudinally to provide oflset crank ends 25-25 disposed parallel to the rock shaft, the ofiset of these crank ends being relatively greater than that of the crank portion 48 and also being angularly offset with respect to said portion l8. These crank ends are adapted to engage the keeper brackets presently to be more fully described, and in the engaged position produce a torsion twist and tension in the rod I l, which for this purpose is formed 01' suitable spring metal, the tension thus 50 set up exerting an upward pull on the connecting rod 20 and the crank arm 23 to retain the latter in the locking position 'at one side of the dead center, as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

The keeper brackets are of similar construction andareprovidedattheendsofbothofthe sides It in positions to cooperate with the ends 2! of the hood catches at each sideof hood, the front and rear keeper brackets, ever,being'reversedwithrespecttoeachother but otherwise of identical construction. For convenience, therefore, only one of the brackets will bedescribedindetail,thisbeingtherearleft bracketillustratedindetailinFlgs.2to5. This keeper bracket comprises an arcuate molmting fiange portion 28, shaped to conform tothe curvature of the hood side, and which is secured to its. interior surface upwardly spaced relation to the lower edge of the hood side by spot-welding, as at 21, or by any'other suitable means. A side plate portion 20 from which the flange I is bent projects inwardly and downwardly and at its inner end is provided with a right angularly bent vertically disposed flange 29 provided at its lower end with a forwardly and downwardly inclined keeper lip portion II, with which the crank end 2! is adapted to engage in the locked position of the catch. The side portion 28 is preferably embossed with a reinforcing rib II to stiffen it. The lower edge of the side portion 28' comprises a vertically extending forward edge portion 32 spaced inwardly from the inner surface of the lower marginal edge portion of the hood side to provide a recess within which the upper edge of the fixed wall portion ll engages in the closed position of the hood, a horizontal edge portion 33 extending inwardly from the lower end of the In order to release the hood the operating handle 24 which is normally in a horizontal position is raised through a quarter turn to vertical position, first causing the crank lever 23 to be forced over the dead center from its locked position, whereupon the rock shaft is rotated to the position shown in Fig. 5 the crank end 25 first riding upon the curved surface 3 and then into engagement with the horizontal edge surface 33 and raising the hood so that its lower edge is in upwardly spaced relation to the upper edge of the wall portion II. The hood side may thereupon be conveniently gripped by the fingers and moved to its fully raised position. In order to close the hood it is only necessary'to engage the crank ends 25 above the lip portions 3| of the keeper brackets and swing the handle 14 to its locked position, the crank ends being pressed downwardly upon ,thelip portions which through their inclination cause the hood to be pulled downwardlyandinwardlyandfirmlyrctainedincloscd moflthrough the tensionset up in the rock In Fig. 6 I have illmtrated the catch and bracketmeansprovidedinahoodstructurein which the hood I! is hinged at its rearward edge, as at ii, to the automobile frame structure. Theactuatinghandle Ilofthe catchis preferably mounted centrally of the forward fixed wall II and the brackets are mounted interiorly of the hood adjacent the ends of its forward portion. The operation is substantially similar to that of the first embodiment, the hood being partially lifted upon release of the catch by engagementof the crank ends 25 withthe cam surfaces 34 and 33 of the brackets.

I have illustrated and described a preferred and satisfactory embodiment of my invention, but it will be obvious that changes may be made therein, within the spirit and scope thereof as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. For use in an automobile hood structure comprising a side wall, a hinged hood section, and manually operable catch means mounted interiorly of said side wall, a keeper bracket adapted to besecured upon the interior of said hood section to be engaged by said catch means to secure the hood section in closed position, and cam means on said bracket adapted to be engaged by said catch means upon releasing movement to raise the hood section upwardly relatively to said wall.

2. For use in an automobile hood structure comprising a side wall, a hinged hood section, and manually operable catch means. mounted interiorly of said side walls, a keeper bracket secured upon the interior of said hood section having a downwardly and outwardly inclined portion adapted to be engaged at its upper side by said catch means upon downward movement of said catch means to secure the hood section in closed position and a cam portion adapted to be engaged by said catch means upon upward releasing movement to raise the'hood section upwardly relatively to said side wall.

3. A hood catch keeper bracket, adapted to be secured toa hood section in relation to be en- P. SARGENT. Q 

